Paula J. Bullington

Paula Jill Bullington of Salida, CO died on October 9, 2019 at Swedish Medical Center in Englewood, CO.

Born on March 3, 1948 in Wakefield, NE; Paula grew up in Pender, NE the daughter of Donald and Esther (Griesch) Craig.  She graduated from Pender High School in 1966 and then attended and graduated from the Lincoln School of Commerce in Lincoln, NE.  In 1976, she relocated to Salida, CO from the greater Los Angeles, Ca area where she had lived for 5 years.  In Salida she rejoined her parents and the family of her brother Brad Craig, who were owner/operators of Salida Auto Parts, a NAPA dealership.  Paula started working as a Customer Service Representative in the Salida office of the Public Service Company.  While there she met Donald Bullington, a lineman with the Salida office of Public Service Company; whom she then married on May 13, 1978.   In 1979 they relocated to Silverthorne, CO to work in the Summit County office of Public Service Company.

In 1983, they both left Public Service Company to return to Salida where they established High Country Connection, a powersports dealership, which they then co-owned and operated for the next 28 years until 2011.  From then until her death, she was a Sales Associate with Salida Auto Parts.

During her life in Colorado, and particularly in Chaffee County and Salida, she was an active member of the Colorado snowmobiling community.  She served as the long-time Treasurer for the Heart of the Rockies Snowmobile Club here in Chaffee County; participating in the club’s recreational and service activities.  She was also an enthusiast for other outdoor recreational activities such as ATV’ing, motorcycling, and camping with her friends and family.  She also took great pride in her home and in spending time with her numerous friends and family members, particularly for the Griesch Family Reunions held every year in rotations among family homes in Colorado, Nebraska, Iowa, and Missouri.  She was frequent blood donor through the Bonfils Blood Center in Denver, CO, donating well over 100 pints of blood in her lifetime.  She was also an organ and tissue donor, having donated one of her kidneys to her niece Michele Craig in 2008, and then as a posthumous donor via the Donor Alliance Foundation.

Paula was preceded in death by her mother Esther Craig, niece Michele Craig, sister-in-law Jan Craig, and three family dogs (raised by Paula and Don and canine-siblings of Jeff and Greg), Jingo, Luckie, and Sadie.  She is survived by her husband Donald Bullington, father Don Craig, and brother Brad Craig all of Salida, son Jeff Bullington of Alamosa, CO, son Greg Bullington and family (daughter-in-law Danna Bullington, granddaughter Abby Bullington Oblak and husband Kevin Oblak, all of Cheyenne, WY, and grandson Mitchell Bullington of Idaho Falls, ID), and family dog Lilli.  She is also survived by numerous friends and family members including aunts, uncles, and numerous cousins (1st, 2nd, 3rd, and beyond) in Colorado, Nebraska, Iowa, Kansas, and Missouri.

Many thanks are also given to the staffs of the Heart of the Rockies Medical Center, Swedish Medical Center, Namaste Hospice, and the Donor Alliance Foundation for all of their dedicated care and support provided to Paula and to her family members through this process.  We are honored by your service.

Funeral Services are set for 11 am on Saturday October 19 at Lewis and Glenn Funeral Home.  Memorial contributions from friends and family are welcome to the Fremont County Humane Society Adoption Services through Lewis and Glenn Funeral Home.  Arrangements are through the Lewis and Glenn Funeral Home, Salida, Co. 

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